Book Review: Taslitz, A. E. (2006). Reconstructing the Fourth Amendment: A History of Search & Seizure, 1789—1868. New York/London: New York University Press. 363 pp

• DOI: 10.1177/0734016808319567
• Published date: 01 September 2008
• Date: 01 September 2008
• Author: Krystal E. Noga
• Subject Matter: Articles

the massive domain that officers tried to supervise. However, Wolcott’s study carries out its

stated intentions. He provides any student of history, social work, or criminal justice with

a keen awareness of how significantly police responsibilities changed both in terms of their

relationship to young people in the neighborhoods they patrolled and in terms of how they

worked with the evolving justice system in several American cities.

Sarah Heath

Georgia State University

Taslitz, A. E. (2006). Reconstructing the Fourth Amendment:

A History of Search & Seizure, 1789–1868. New York/London:

New York University Press. 363 pp.

DOI: 10.1177/0734016808319567

Andrew E. Taslitz is a professor of law at Howard University in Washington, DC. He has

previously taught at Duke University, as well as Villanova University. He is the author of

numerous articles and five books, including Rape and the Culture of the Courtroom (1999),

Constitutional Criminal Procedure (2nd ed., 2003), Evidence Law and Practice (2nd ed.,

2004), and Criminal Law: Concepts and Practice (2005). Prior to his career in academia,

Prof. Taslitz worked as a prosecuting attorney in the Philadelphia, Pennsylvania District

Attorney’s Office.

Professor Taslitz’s most recent book, Reconstructing the Fourth Amendment: A History

of Search & Seizure, 1789–1868 (2006), is an outstanding scholarly achievement in the area

of constitutional history and criminal procedure, particularly the law of search and seizure.

According to Taslitz, not understanding the historical context of the Fourth Amendment—

both the original amendment as adopted in 1791, and then as ratified in 1868—has led to a

misinterpretation of the amendment’s true purpose, and thus its misapplication (or non-

application as the case may be) on the streets and in the courts.

In Reconstructing the Fourth Amendment, the reader is reminded that the Fourth

Amendment emerged from the strife of a people who fought tirelessly for their rights of

assembly and association, their rights to free speech, and a free press, as well as their right

to own property and the right of mobility. Taslitz asserts that 200 years after its original

enactment, the Fourth Amendment continues to be misinterpreted today, providing little

protection of the prized civil liberties of the American citizenry. The main distinction is that

the rights placed in jeopardy today include the right to due process, the right to a fair trial,

and the right to personal privacy. As a result, Taslitz argues that the current interpretation

of the Fourth Amendment works to reinforce a discord between the American people (in

particular minorities) and the government (namely the police).

According to Taslitz, the current system of practical criminal procedure provides neither

security on our streets nor freedom in our homes. The severity of the problem is evidenced

most clearly in today’s War on Terror. Taslitz points, specifically, to the permissible and

condoned use of “warrantless” and “suspicionless” searches, as conducted by the federal

Book Reviews 421